Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE-based foreign exchange and worldwide money transfer company, reported witnessing more than 40% increase in mobile transactions from UAE residents to home countries since the beginning of March and the COVID-19 outbreak. Over 110,000 online transactions were registered through the company’s mobile application. This spike is due to many residents practicing physical distancing at home and who are looking for means to send necessary funds to relatives on foreign shores.
Al Ansari Exchange has been an early adopter of digital platforms to provide customers the flexibility to make any transaction from any device whilst also ensuring the safety and security of their personal information. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the UAE Central Bank has recently advised residents to favour contactless and mobile payments and take advantage of digital and online banking services to protect themselves from COVID-19.
This spike is due to many residents practicing physical distancing at home and who are looking for means to send necessary funds to relatives on foreign shores
In order to comply with government regulations, Al Ansari Exchange has limited some branch operations however, most of them remain operational as it is the ultimate method to transfer money for those who prefer traditional methods. All branches that remain open for customers have implemented strict sanitisation measures to ensure customers can continue to send crucial remittance with safe, seamless and fast services and channels to support their loved ones abroad.
Al Ansari Exchange has confirmed having sent over 1.2 million SMS to its customers to inform them about their digital channels and invite them to follow the videos they made available on YouTube to further encourage them to use mobile applications. Al Ansari Exchange App, rated 4.7 stars on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, has been downloaded more than 500,000 times and was ranked the number one Finance App in the United Arab Emirates during the month of March on both app stores.
Rashed A Al Ansari, Chief Executive Officer, Al Ansari Exchange, said: “It is certainly a difficult time for all markets around the world where governments and companies are doing their best to implement measures to limit the impact of COVID-19. With the current circumstances, we understand that many people rely on us to collect their wages and send money home to their families urgently; hence, it is important to ensure we can continue serving the public effectively. Thanks to our ongoing digital initiatives, we witnessed over 40% increase in mobile transactions and expect this trend to grow further. Currently, 7% of total remittances are being made through our mobile app.”
Al Ansari added: “It’s an important time for the whole local financial sector as we implement several initiatives to limit the spread of COVID-19. We follow the UAE Central Bank’s call to stand strong together to serve the local community through various digital platforms and contact centres. As far as the UAE’s remittance sector is concerned, we are confident that it is well positioned to mitigate the current and upcoming challenges.”
